Ghana is not a xenophobic State - President

Accra, June 28, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Friday emphatically stated that Ghana was not a xenophobic State.

He said contrary to perceptions that there was a rise in xenophobia in Ghana, "We remain an open society, welcoming" and have no problems with fellow Africans living and working in the country.

“There is no xenophobia in Ghana, we are not a xenophobic State. We are the pan-African nation that has opened its doors to all Africans, and they are not going to be the object of any hate campaign in Ghana,” the President said when the outgoing Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire to Ghana, Bernard Ehui-Koutua, called to bid farewell to him after a successful duty tour of the country.

President Akufo-Addo told the envoy that Ghana remained "open and welcoming, especially to our brothers and sisters from all parts of the continent.”

“What we do insist on, which is what every nation insists on, is that our own domestic laws are respected by those who come into our country, and, in so saying, we are no different from other people.”

The President asked the outgoing Ambassador to convey to President Allassane Outtara that the impression being created abroad that Ghanaians had gotten xenophobic was far from the truth.

“We continue to remain an open society, welcoming, especially, to our kith and kin on this continent. So, I will like you, in very, very strong terms, to convey these sentiments of mine to your President back home,” the President added.

President Akufo-Addo said the departure of Ambassador Ehui-Koutua’s, who also doubled as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana, was a sad day for the country because the envoy had conducted himself with great dignity.

He noted that one of the most important, diplomatic, strategic, political relations that Ghana could have with any country was with the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, that it shared ties of common blood, common history, common ethnicity and common geography.

He mentioned the “Strategic Partnership Agreement” signed by him and his Ivorian counterpart, as well as the substantial convergence of views of the two leaders on regional, continental and global matters, as examples of the successes chalked by Ambassador Ehui-Koutua.

“I am looking forward to deepening and strengthening the ties between our two countries. We are at the centre of integration efforts, both in the region and on the continent. We will continue to walk side by side as we have been doing these past years,” he added. 

President Akufo-Addo also bid farewell to Mohammed Hussain Al-Failakawi, outgoing Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Ghana; and to Mohammed Farahat, outgoing Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Ghana; as well as to Mr. Hugues Chantry, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana.

GNA

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